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Friday, June 2, 2017

Governors Ball Music Festival 2017 at Randall's Island Park/Day 1

The seventh annual Governors Ball Music Festival (commonly
known as Governors Ball or Gov Ball) returned to Randall's Island Park on June
2-4, with Chance the Rapper, Phoenix and Tool headlined the 2017 festival over
approximately 60 performing artists. The festival also featured numerous food
trucks and kiosks, as well as lawn games and other activities.

Four stages scattered throughout the park allowed for two
artists to perform at any given moment. Timing was precise; as one band
finished, another began on another stage. On all three days this year, the
first bands performed for 30 minutes, the afternoon artists performed for 45
minutes and the evening acts performed for 75 minutes. Teens and college-aged
youth dominated the audience on Friday and Saturday, when pop, rap and dance
artists drew the larger audiences. Rock bands were largely relegated to Sunday,
when Tool's first New York performance in over a decade drew many older, long-bearded
fans.

The 2017 festival featured a few surprises. Lorde’s main
stage performance featured a duet with Bleachers' Jack Antonoff on a cover of
Robyn’s "Hang with Me," as they had done this past December during the
Ally Coalition Talent Show at Webster Hall's Grand Ballroom. On the smaller
stages, Charli XCX was joined by rapper Cupcakke for a song, and Marshmello
introduced EDM artist Slushii and Mini Mello, who dressed as a mini-me of the marshmallow-helmeted
DJ.

Unlike several previous years, the weather held up for most of the
event except for one quick rainfall and a drizzle most of Sunday afternoon.
Plastic rain ponchos were available in the early afternoon. At the 2016
festival, heavy rains saturated the grounds on Saturday, and Sunday was
cancelled due to predicted storms and safety concerns.

Governors Ball is produced annually by Founders
Entertainment, a festival promotion company based in New York City, which also
produces The Meadows Music & Arts Festival. The inaugural Governors Ball
was held on June 18, 2011, on Governors Island in New York City. That initial
one-day Governors Ball 2011 reportedly amassed the highest attendance of any
event in the history of Governors Island. The majority of the 12 bands booked
were danceable pop bands, with Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, and Empire of the Sun
as the headliners. The following summer, Governors Ball moved further up the
East River to Randall's Island in New York City in order to accommodate larger
crowds. Expanding to a two-day event, the 2012 festival headlined Beck, Passion
Pit, Kid Cudi, and Modest Mouse. Since then, Governors Ball has hosted Kanye
West, Guns N' Roses, Kendrick Lamar, Outkast, Jack White, Vampire Weekend, the
Strokes, Skrillex, and the Killers among its headliners.